Ministry Letter - July 2008

Dear Friends,

Summer is here!! All we need is for someone to turn the sun on and switch off the rain!! As I write (mid July) we have had some lovely warm rain. I’m sure the weather was better when I was a youngster or is that just me looking through “Rose Tinted Glasses”? Perhaps by the time you read this the weather will have picked up!?

I’m just so glad that God is not fickle like the weather! One of my favourite poems is “Footprints” which, you may recall, speaks of God being with us in the worst parts of our lives, in fact, not only being with us but carrying us and helping us through. It’s important as Christians that we have that picture of God in our minds, through the good and the bad times of our lives. God never promised to take away every problem from us, but did promise to go before us, to be with us, and to help us through the painful times of our lives. What’s your experience of God, I’d love to know.

There are a few things I would like to mention for you to think on during the summer. The 1st one is Alpha: have you ever been on the Alpha Course? Have you ever wondered what it is? It’s an opportunity to discuss and explore the Christian faith in a friendly atmosphere. An opportunity for you to discuss those big questions of life in a safe, welcoming place. Even if you have been going to church all your life I guarantee that you will get a new insight into God and his love for you. If you don’t go to church already, or you’ve drifted away, then Alpha is ideal for you – why not come along you’ve got nothing to lose!

The 2nd thing is Back to Church Sunday (B2CS) on the 28th September 2008 (also Harvest). I remember reading a few years ago that for those people who drift away from, or fall out with the church for what ever reason, it is mostly to do with a human reason rather that a God one. In other words people don’t tend to fall out with God, they fall out with other people and stop attending church. For most people they still have faith in God but not the church. B2CS gives us the opportunity to invite people back to church in a non threatening way. More details will be out in early September of how you can get involved.

And finally, evening services! We are going to trial a couple of services a month starting in September (the actual Sundays are yet to be set) and see what the response is. One will be an Evensong type service at St Mary’s and the other will be a “Life Issues” service at St Luke’s. Life Issues is a service that I ran at St Chad’s for a number of years and it takes the form of a discussion with four main elements; “What is the Issue?” (an introduction), “Explore the Issue” (the discussion) and “What does the Bible say?” (biblical/Christian perspective on the issue) and, of course, worship (probably me on the guitar and whoever wants to join in). It may be that the discussions carry on in the Nag’s Head afterwards!! The issues are those things that affect our lives and are usually topical i.e. suffering, natural disasters, illness, debt, war, slavery etc. Again more details will be available late August, but for now feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

In the meantime, enjoy the summer, get some rest and relaxation and let’s be ready to serve God in new and fresh ways.

Your Rector and friend...
Mike